Since November 2024, Tessa has been a PhD candidate in Winette and Olga's research group. She studied medicine and graduated in late 2023, after which she began working as a clinical doctor in the medical oncology department at Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Hospital. During her medical studies, she had already developed an interest in oncology, completing a research internship at the same hospital. It was during her time as a clinical doctor that her passion for oncology deepened, inspiring her to pursue further research. Her research work focuses on the quality of life in sarcoma patients — a highly diverse group with over 100 histological subtypes, making clinical research particularly complex and underscoring the importance of quality-of-life studies. Within sarcoma research, she has a special focus on gastrointestinal stromal tumors. Alongside her research, she continues to work two days a week as a clinical doctor at the outpatient clinic.